Turning its back on the USA – Military Political Turn in Pakistan

Read: 193
11:24
12 February 2018

by Bahram Batiyev

The US government has decided to cut defense aid to Pakistan, announced Heather Nauert, the Spokesperson for the Department of State. The US explained their decision to seize aid with insufficient attempts of Pakistan in fighting the Afghani movement “Taliban” and the “Haqqani Network” terrorist group. Moreover, the US President Donald Trump announced on 1 January that Islamabad poorly militates against fringe groups. Trump even twitted that “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies and deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools”.

What is happening in US-Pakistan relations now? Why did the two recent allies suddenly stand face to face from different sides of barricades? And what will the cooling from the US bring to Pakistan. Defence.az asked retired Pakistani air commodore and a famous Pakistani military expert Kaiser Tufail.

The US White House administration seems quite ignorant about geopolitics, as well as the norms of international diplomacy, says Tufail.
‘The American leader seems to be in the grip of the neo-cons, and is influenced by the Indian lobby, as far as Pakistan is concerned. How else can we explain the fact that the US failure in Afghanistan is being absurdly blamed on Pakistan, without taking into account the efforts of Pakistan armed forces in fighting terrorism for over more than 15 years. Thousands of Pakistani lives lost have been callously disregarded by the US administration.
Seen in the light of the changing geopolitical situation, the US is hell-bent in securing a permanent presence in Afghanistan so as to be a counterweight to the growing Chinese influence in the region. It seems that the US wants Pakistan to oppose all political forces in Afghanistan, which desire an ouster of US troops from their country. These elements have been labelled as terrorists by USA, and Pakistan is being erroneously accused of supporting them. Actually, the US wants Pakistani help to support Afghan puppets which have the blessings of USA, so that it can retain a permanent presence in Afghanistan. The US frustration with Pakistan to do its bidding has resulted in the stoppage of military funding, and the start of purposeless vilification of a former ally.

In the coming months, USA is expected to ratchet up the pressure, but with China more than eager to fill in, Pakistan can easily face the challenge. Pakistan has enjoyed excellent relations with China for over four decades, and there have been hardly any bothersome irritants. Trump’s outburst marks a watershed in Pak-US relations, and it can be said that it has triggered completely new geo-political ‘engineering’. Pakistan shall be the pivot of the emerging geo-political structure spanning from Russia in the West to China in the East rising.

For many Pakistani economists, the stoppage of US aid is a welcome development, as it would diminish the coercive advantage that US exercised in the past for achieving its ends. ‘Good riddance’ is the countrywide refrain after Trump’s ill-considered tweet, says Tufail.

Turning its back on the USA – Military Political Turn in Pakistan

Read: 194
11:24
12 February 2018

by Bahram Batiyev

The US government has decided to cut defense aid to Pakistan, announced Heather Nauert, the Spokesperson for the Department of State. The US explained their decision to seize aid with insufficient attempts of Pakistan in fighting the Afghani movement “Taliban” and the “Haqqani Network” terrorist group. Moreover, the US President Donald Trump announced on 1 January that Islamabad poorly militates against fringe groups. Trump even twitted that “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies and deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools”.

What is happening in US-Pakistan relations now? Why did the two recent allies suddenly stand face to face from different sides of barricades? And what will the cooling from the US bring to Pakistan. Defence.az asked retired Pakistani air commodore and a famous Pakistani military expert Kaiser Tufail.

The US White House administration seems quite ignorant about geopolitics, as well as the norms of international diplomacy, says Tufail.
‘The American leader seems to be in the grip of the neo-cons, and is influenced by the Indian lobby, as far as Pakistan is concerned. How else can we explain the fact that the US failure in Afghanistan is being absurdly blamed on Pakistan, without taking into account the efforts of Pakistan armed forces in fighting terrorism for over more than 15 years. Thousands of Pakistani lives lost have been callously disregarded by the US administration.
Seen in the light of the changing geopolitical situation, the US is hell-bent in securing a permanent presence in Afghanistan so as to be a counterweight to the growing Chinese influence in the region. It seems that the US wants Pakistan to oppose all political forces in Afghanistan, which desire an ouster of US troops from their country. These elements have been labelled as terrorists by USA, and Pakistan is being erroneously accused of supporting them. Actually, the US wants Pakistani help to support Afghan puppets which have the blessings of USA, so that it can retain a permanent presence in Afghanistan. The US frustration with Pakistan to do its bidding has resulted in the stoppage of military funding, and the start of purposeless vilification of a former ally.

In the coming months, USA is expected to ratchet up the pressure, but with China more than eager to fill in, Pakistan can easily face the challenge. Pakistan has enjoyed excellent relations with China for over four decades, and there have been hardly any bothersome irritants. Trump’s outburst marks a watershed in Pak-US relations, and it can be said that it has triggered completely new geo-political ‘engineering’. Pakistan shall be the pivot of the emerging geo-political structure spanning from Russia in the West to China in the East rising.

For many Pakistani economists, the stoppage of US aid is a welcome development, as it would diminish the coercive advantage that US exercised in the past for achieving its ends. ‘Good riddance’ is the countrywide refrain after Trump’s ill-considered tweet, says Tufail.